The Indian state of Gujarat offers
some of the very best bird and mammal watching on the sub-continent. We began
our 2017 tour in the unique landscape of the Rann of Kutch, a seasonally flooded
wilderness which is astonishingly rich in wildlife. Here we watched MacQueen's
Bustard, Pallid Scops-owl, Indian Courser, Painted Sandgrouse and the rare
Stolicka's Bushchat, as well as enjoying frequent sightings of the Asiatic Wild
Ass, here in its only home in the world. Next we visited the Sasan Gir Lion
sanctuary, which has been instrumental in saving the Asiatic Lion from
extinction. During our visit we were delighted to see this top predator on two
days, with Leopard and Golden Jackal forming a highly respectable supporting
cast. Last but not least, we moved to the grasslands of Velavadar, the best
place in the world to see Blackbuck, a very attractive black and white antelope
which is confined to the sub-continent. Here an Indian Wolf showed well one
morning and who could forget the evening harrier roost which included well over
500 birds including at least 200 Pallid Harriers!

I hope you enjoy looking at the
photographs below, all taken on this very successful tour by Ian Brookes, Chris
Brooks, Marvin Cooper and Jack Stephens.

Tea and biscuits as the sun goes down; a wonderful way to end a fantastic
day in the Rann of Kutch.
The shallow ravine to the left hosted an Indian Eagle Owl
during our visit.

An
Indian endemic species with a small population, theWhite-naped Tit continues to decline due to fragmentation of its dry
thorn-scrub habitat. Gujarat offers
the best chance of a sighting, but even here the species is under serious threat
from habitat loss and land degradation. Suitable scrub has been lost to the
growth of villages and to the extension of agriculture, whilst other problems
include provision of fuelwood for illegal charcoal making, and more
surprisingly, the use of acacia twigs for disposable toothbrushes!

A species
to see
now whilst you still can!

White-eyed Buzzard

Tickellís
Blue Flycatcher

Sykesís
Nightjar

Stolickaís Bushchat lives in areas of sandy semi-desert with low shrubs.
The only place where you can reasonably expect to see one is within the Thar Desert,
along the borders of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is thought to be a short distance
migrant and ones and twos are found every winter in northern Kutch in
Gujarat. Our bird was self found in an area with perhaps just the one previous
sighting!

Almost nothing is known about its breeding habits, even the breeding
season is unknown! Given large parts of the Thar Desert
are now given over to agriculture, it is another species classified as
vulnerable, so see it whilst you can!

A little known owl preferring more arid areas than its close cousin the
Eurasian Scops-owl. An uncommon wintering bird in Gujarat,
the only regular state where you can see the species in India.

Painted Sandgrouse

This sedentary species occurs in South Asia
preferring bare ground with sparse thorn bushes, but it also occurs in more
forested areas so long as these are rocky.

On safari
looking for Indian Wolf

Male
Montaguís Harrier

An
exhilarating early morning drive across the flat expanses of the Little Rann.

Indian Eagle
Owl

Sometimes
known as Rock Eagle Owl. Although nocturnal, this species often perches out well
before sunset on rock pinnacles and trees.

They feed by
gliding down onto prey from such a perch, with more success the lower to the
ground they are.

Clearly
something very interesting!

Hypocolius

A shy and
unobtrusive resident of semi-deserts, it breeds from northern Iraq to western
Afghanistan and winters mainly in central and eastern Arabia. Rarely is it seen
anywhere else, though Gujarat hosts the only regular sites in India. This is a
female, the males being more attractive with a black band to the back of their
head.

Brahminy Starling

Black-rumped
Flameback (Lesser Goldenback)

Widely
distributed in India, it prefers plains but can even be seen in urban
environments.

Blackbuck

This antelope is found mainly
in India where it was formerly much more widespread. Today only small and
scattered herds are to be found, largely confined within protected areas. The
species finds the grassy plains and light forests of Velavadar much to its
liking and the park remains the best place to find it. During the 20th century,
Blackbuck numbers declined sharply due to excessive hunting, deforestation and
habitat degradation, but numbers have since recovered to a recent estimate of
50000 in 2001. The antelope was introduced into Texas in 1932 where its meat is
highly regarded!

Crab Plover

This unmistakable black
and white wader frequents sun-baked tropical beaches and coral reefs with an
abundance of crabs. Globally rare, it breeds colonially in burrows in the
Persian Gulf, Red Sea and gulfs of Oman and Aden. Birders usually seek the
species in its winter quarters which stretch south through much of the Indian
Ocean.

They are the only wader
to breed in self excavated tunnels, where chicks can be protected from the sun.
The single egg is one of the largest of any bird in relation to body mass,
(about 21% of body mass).

Red-tailed Wheatear

Purple-rumped Sunbird is not
on the distribution maps for Gujarat, but nevertheless we saw them at three
places, including at Rann Riders where Ian located a family group including this
attractive male.

The Asiatic
Lion is a subspecies that split from African Lions around 100,000 years ago.
They once prowled all the way from the Middle East to India, but sadly,
they were hunted nearly to extinction, with as few as ten individuals left in
existence by the late 1800s. Thanks to a concerned Maharaja, the Newab of
Junagarh, they were protected in the teak woodlands of the Gir Forest, where
numbers of this magnificent animal have increased to about 600. Gir remain the
only place in the World to see this animal.

Lance has recently returned from a very
enjoyable recce to Gujarat, the western most state of India. The weather, birds
and mammals all performed admirably so we are now advertising a tour, the first
to this destination. The images below offer a flavour of what can be expected.

Yellow-wattled Lapwing - a typical dry country species.

Colourful scenes from the roadside, here wash morning!

Wild Boar.

Asiatic Wild Ass, restricted to the Rann of Kutch.

Sykes's Nightjar, a nocturnal speciality of the region.

Another highly sought after Gujarati inhabitant - the very
localised Stoliczka's Bushchat.

Somnath Temple, a place of significance for Hindus.

Rufous-tailed Lark.

Red-tailed Wheatear.

Painted Stork.

A male Nilgai.

Little Green BeeEater.

Asiatic Lion in the Gir Forest, their only home in the world.

Asiatic Lion

Indian Wolf at Velavadar

The exquisit Indian Courser - now that's an attractive bird!

Grey Hypocolious, here a male.

there are an abundance of birds in Gujarat, here a flock of
Brown-headed Gulls with a handful of Slender-billed amongst them.

Gujarat hosts the only site in India for Grey Hypocolius, here
a female.

Demoiselle Cranes roosting in the Rann of Kutch.

Crested Serpent Eagle sunning itself in the early morning sun
at Gir.

Crab Plover.

Street scene.

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse.

An eyecatching male Blackbuck at Velavadar.

Please note: The above photographs were taken on
previous trips. Itineraries change from time to time and therefore you cannot
rely on these photographs as being an exact representation of what can be
expected on a future tour. For details of the each tour, you should refer to the
brochure write-up.